Is the Amazon Fire Phone Right for You?

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Last week, Amazon expanded its repertoire of devices with the release of Amazon Fire Phone. Here are some of its standout features:

A unique operating system
The Amazon Fire Phone uses a heavily modified version of Android, so much so that the experience is unique to the device. If you own a Kindle Fire, you may recognize its similar aesthetic.

Dynamic perspective (a.k.a. 3D effects)
The Amazon Fire phone features five (yep, five) front-facing cameras. But only one of them is for selfies. The other four are used to create a 3D experience by measuring your relative position. The effect right now does seem kind of gimmicky, but it will be interesting to see how software updates and app developers make use of this tech in the future.

Gesture controls
Another unique feature of the Amazon Fire Phone is its integrated use of gestures to reveal added items. By flicking your wrist left or right, you can access settings and options unique to each app. Tilting the phone slightly also reveals additional information. Check it out in action below:

A 13MP camera
The phone's camera captures some pretty impressive pictures from what I've seen in my experience with it so far. Additionally, there's a dedicated button on the left side of phone for easy camera access and a response time that rivals that of the iPhone 5s.

Familiar apps
At launch the Amazon Fire Phone already has a solid lineup off apps, featuring all of the heavy hitters like Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, Pinterest, Netflix, HBO Go, Spotify, Pandora, etc. We'll see how quickly they can catch up to the expansive app libraries of iPhone and Android devices in the coming months.

A solid look and feel
The phone sports a 4.7" display, Corning Gorilla Glass 3 on the front AND back, a rubbery grip on the outside edge, and easily accessible buttons.

Mayday access
If you own a Kindle, you may already be familiar with Amazon's Mayday help feature. Mayday puts you in touch with a live representative you can see right on your phone in seconds (don't worry they can't see you). The representative can point you toward what you're looking for, and even give you a tutorial on how to use certain features.

One-click access to Firefly
By just holding down the camera button, you can pull up Firefly, Amazon's new scanning app that recognizes product bar codes, songs, business cards and more to help you find and keep track of things. With a product, once you snap a shot of a label, the phone then gives you quick links to purchase it via Amazon.com.

The Bottom Line
Though no one feature stands out as a complete game changer to us, Amazon Fire Phone's unique packaging of them all results in a device that has a distinct feel and goal. If you're already invested in Amazon prime and a Kindle or Amazon TV, the new smartphone may be a worthy purchase. It certainly integrates the Amazon media and buying experience better than any phone on the market; however, this phone still has a lot to prove in its competition against the well-established Apple and Android devices.

The Amazon Fire Phone is available exclusively through AT&T for $199 on contract, $649 off contract.

Gordon Grajek is a test engineer in the Consumer Electronics lab of the Good Housekeeping Research Institute.